A thermoelectric material is a type of material that can directly convert thermal energy into electrical energy or vice versa. Thermoelectric materials can produce a voltage potential in the presence of a temperature gradient across the thermoelectric materials and, alternately, can produce a temperature gradient in response to an applied voltage potential. The magnitudes of the temperature gradient and the voltage may be proportionally related.
Based on these properties, attempts have been made to create thermoelectric-enhanced heat exchangers to include thermoelectric materials in heat exchanger arrangements. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,354 (“the '354 patent”) issued to Chu et al. on May 6, 2003, describes a thermoelectric-enhanced heat exchanger for facilitating heat removal within a cooling system for an electronic device. However, the heat exchanger described in the '354 patent, like other conventional thermoelectric-enhanced heat exchangers, may suffer from low efficiencies due to the use of bulk thermoelectric materials. Further, the efficiency of the heat exchanger of the '354 patent may be limited by a low surface area to volume configuration of the heat exchange elements.
Methods and systems consistent with certain features of the disclosed specification are directed to solving one or more of the problems set forth above.